percentage was on the low side. How magnificent Blackhurst was in the way that she crowed “Before the Parade Passes By,” with a voice that shone like a new trombone and a new baton. Blackhurst also played with the melody just a bit, but not enough to have unnerved Jerry Herman (or Charles Strouse). Best of all, even from this one number Blackhurst was no imitator of any previous Dolly, but brought her distinctive personality to it. Hello, Dolly! ran June 28 through Sept. 14 at that East Haddam haunt, and you’ll only be sorry if you didn't see it."
~ Peter Filichia﻿http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=505693

One of the greatest musicals ever written, Hello, Dolly! brings to life the tale of
Dolly Levi and celebrates the

search for love.

A matchmaker named
Dolly Levi takes a trip to Yonkers, New York to see the "well-known
unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder…and she takes us with
her.It only takes a moment to fall in love, says Cornelius Hackl of Yonkers, New York, and I was in love the moment I heard the opening strains of Hello, Dolly at the top of the show. .

Hello, Dolly!, of course, is based
on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The
Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955.

Hello, Dolly! was
first produced on Broadway at the St. James Theater by David Merrick in 1964,
winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and nine other Tonys. When Hello, Dolly! premiered in Detroit on
November 18th, 1963 with the original company starring Carol Channing, it
opened to mediocre reviews, but with the addition of Before The Parade Passes By in Washington DC,it opened on Broadway to great reviews;
receiving eleven Tony nominations, winning
ten awards-including Best Musical-
and ultimately, became the town’s hottest ticket.

There are many who cannot think of Hello, Dolly! without
thinking of Carol Channing.

Channing embodied the role like no other for over 5,000
performances; a feat we will never see again.

I have devoted the last 19 months to researching and writing
about Hello, Dolly! This year alone,
I saw Nancy Opel as Dolly (at the Signature Theater in Washington DC),
Christine Toy Johnson (twice) in an all Asian Company (for the National Asian
Artists Project), AMAS’ production with a teen aged cast, AND a high school
production. In the autumn, Sally
Struthers is embarking on a National tour.

They all had aspects that I loved. They also had things that
I disliked.

Those aspects will not find their way into print. My goal is
to celebrate rather than to criticize.

When I first heard that Goodspeed was going to be Dolly as
part of THEIR 50th anniversary season, I was excited because I knew
that they would honor the integrity and intent of the original creators and
collaborators. I also mentioned to Klea Blackhurst to make sure that she got on
their radar!

Most know that Jerry Herman wrote the original songs of Hello, Dolly with Ethel Merman in mind.

When Merman was approached and turned it down after
four years of Gypsy, both Herman and David Merrick were crushed. As Merman
said, “They had to settle for Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Martha Raye, Betty
Grable, Pearl Bailey, Phyllis Diller, Bibi Osterwald” before she finally agreed
to do it. When Merman came into the show, she stayed on long enough to
ensure that it was Broadway’s longest running show at that time surpassing the
then record held by My Fair Lady.

It is interesting to note that Hello, Dolly has only been
revived three times on Broadway and each time by two of the original run’s Iconic Dollys, Carol Channing (in ’77 and ’96)
and Pearl Bailey in ’71.

I think the world is ready for a new Broadway revival of
Hello, Dolly! I believe that Goodspeed's production might be just the ticket.
It hasn’t been done for various reasons, the stamp of the
original is so deep, that there is a fear of trying to replicate that magic. There
are also those egotists who feel they can improve upon the original.
It doesn’t
need to be improved upon. I consider it a perfect show. As Lee Roy Reams says,
as long as the intent is there, you will succeed.
When I have seen productions in which directors and choreographers
want to get away from the intent, I just scratch my head in bewilderment. I saw
one production a few years ago in which the dancers were doing hip-hop moves
and head rolls in Put on Your Sunday
Clothes! One of the productions I saw this year turned The Waiter’s
Gallop into a tap number and loosing the intent of the number altogether.

Also
by eliminating the stairs, Dolly’s entrance into the Harmonia Gardens was
dissipated and watered down. She also sang the opening bars of “Hello, Harry,
Hello, Rudy” out to the audience rather than to, what should have been” fawning
waiters/old friends!

Back to Klea and this production…She certainly got on Goodspeed’s radar and they
saw the light of Dolly by casting her. Klea told me in a previous interview
that she had auditioned for various productions of Dolly over the years, but
never made the grade.
Timing is everything. With her being cast as Dolly Levi
and Tony Sheldon being cast as Horace Vandergelder, along with Daniel Goldstein’s
brilliant swift direction and Kelli Barclay’s exuberant chorography with the
perfect nods to Gower Champion, and a superb supporting cast and chorus, along with the Goodpeed stamp of excellence, and you have the PERFECT Hello, Dolly!

Half way during the show, through tear stained eyes, all I
could think of is how much I desire Carol Channing and Jerry Herman to see this
production.

Gower has to be smiling down on this production. The
Goodspeed Opera House has a small stage but thanks to scenic design of Adrian
W. Jones, the space is utilized for maximum effect.
The backdrop, as people come into the theater, is a large
sepia HAND-PAINTED sepia three dimensional backdrop of the 14th Street Parade.
With the opening strains of
the “overture”, the sound is as lush as the original production's Philip Lang and Peter Howard intended
it to be.
As the curtain/backdrop changes to the brightest red and rises, we see a chorus of New York
natives in muted colors to match the sepia tones of the photograph in gorgeous
costumes designed by Wade Laboissonniere as they instruct us to Call on Dolly for whatever needs may
arise, especially in the matchmaking department.

When Dolly enters, she is in a brighter orange
and each of her costumes throughout match her personality.

One aspect that I have always loved with Thornton Wilder’s
original The Matchmaker, which Michael Stewart carried over, is the breaking of
the “fourth wall”. Goldstein’s direction extends that a little further. Dolly/Klea
makes her entrance from the back of the house a la Merman in Gypsy.
As she dispenses
her cards to members of the audience at the top of the show, she immediately
puts us under her spell.

Klea exudes a warmth that is as if she is welcoming each and
everyone as if we are old friends or ones that are about to become fast ones.
These opening moments set the tone for the entire evening and makes her later
descent down the stairs in Act Two absolutely believable.

Speaking of that
moment, there is a playfulness that I have not seen with other Dollys since
Channing.

I also have to say that the eating scene is the best that I've seen since Channing's. Klea hits a bull's eye with every laugh and, boy, that voice!

Tony Sheldon’s Horace Vandergelder is the most loveable
Horace I have ever seen on stage. The

Klea and Tony in rehearsal (Courtesy: Tony Sheldon)

curmudgeon is there in all aspects of
what Horace is, but you can see a loveable flirtatious underlying layer of
warmth as well.

Ashley Brown, known mainly to New York audiences as Mary
Poppins, is a infectious Irene Molloy. She hits all the right marks.

Spencer Moses as Cornelius Hackl harkens back to Charles
Nelson Reilly as far as a comedic Cornelius is concerned.

He reminds me of Ray
Bolger.Jeremy Morse as Barnaby Tucker was the perfect sidekick.

Catherine Blades is the cutest Minnie Fay this side of the original, Sondra Lee.
Regarding the afore mentioned Waiters Gallop, WOW! WOW!!
WOW!!!

It builds and builds and builds to the climax of Dolly’s
entrance and return to the human race at the Harmonia Gardens.

The Waiter’s Gallop is solely a Gower Champion creation. Any
production of Dolly that does not take advantage of that knowledge should
simply check their hats at the door. THIS Waiter’s Gallop stopped the show like
none other I’ve seen. The sustained applause at the end of this segment was the
longest sustained

with Melodie Wofford

applause I have heard in the theater in a long time. It was also great to see my old friend Melodie Wofford.
She
lights up the stage each time she appears with a smile to rival Channing’s.

The music soars in this production. I truly wish they would
record it.
Klea’s clarion voice is a marvel.

I also want to give a nod to casting directors Stuart Howard
and Paul Hardt. Every person is perfectly cast. Share in the feel-good zest of
the song-and-dance fun… a tremendous generosity of spirit… this whips through
the theatre like a summer breeze.

This production is sponsored by Bank of America, Comcast, The Shops of Mohegan Sun, and Essex Meadows.
This production has HIT written all over it!

Check out Peter Filichia's review HERE.
Thank you to EVERYONE involved in this production for the gifts you have given to the world and continue
to give!
A special thank you to Elisa Hale for all her cooperation and for the use of the photographs used in this blog